Are Monica and Abu Married?

Confusion continues to surround the marital status of Abu Salem and Monica Bedi. Abu has issued a notice to Monica from his prison cell suggesting that she needs to get a divorce from him if she wants to nullify the marriage he claims they made in November 2000. Certainly, when Abu was being interviewed by the police in Nov 2005, he claimed that Monica was his second wife, married after he had divorced his first wife, Sameera Jumani. However, this seems to ignore a rumoured marriage to Yasmin Kamal, which it is suggested took place after the ‘divorce’ from Sameera. Also, we must not forget the probably illegal marriage to a Portuguese woman in a desperate effort to gain citizenship of that country.

It’s not clear whether the divorce with Sameera, or the marriage to Monica had ever taken place. When Monica was evicted from Big Boss recently, she claimed that she was not Abu’s wife. “I was never married to Abu Salem,” she said. “I only lived with him for a year. I loved him, but it is not the same anymore. I last spoke to him on September 18, 2002 – the day we were arrested. I have not been in touch with him since then. I am not with him anymore and have got nothing to do with him at all”

On the other hand, the Portuguese police report apparently has her saying about the $5,000 they found in her apartment that it was her husband’s wedding present (mehr) when they contracted the religious marriage, as is a custom in Islam. The police report allegedly says, “She met her husband about four years ago (in 2000) in Dubai. They took to living together, and later, in November 2000, she married him in the US, where they resided for some time.”